She Saved my Life
by SuprSingr
Summary: Sequel to NintendoGal55's fic "Unexpected Savior". Rated for mention of abuse, and hurt... but this also has romance. D
1. Blissfully Baffled

**A/N: Sup...**

**Okay, this goes out to NintendoGal55 and her adorably terrifying fic "Unexpected Savior". I thought the beginning was some of the most terrifying and dark stuff I could ever read... but the ending makes it worth getting through the scary parts. =D This is a little sequel that I imagine happens after all of that. Go back and read the fic if you haven't already before you try reading this, because all that's gonna earn you is a lot of confusion and about a bottle of advil. **

**And this is also another attempt to get over my serious writers block. Every time I try to write something for "Hypnotizing Helga", something crappy comes out. *Groans* I'm hoping this'll help me get over it. Cross your fingers.. and toes, and arms, and legs, and eyes, and shoe laces, and everything else you can possibly cross. :D**

**NintendoGal55... Enjoy... Oh, and all you other losers enjoy too.**

**XD You all know I'm joking. I love you all! Everyone enjoy! (And you're not losers........ that much.)**

**UGH! I'm mean. JK**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold! Oh the PAIN!**

* * *

**"Unexpected Savior" Sequel: She Saved my Life**

**Chapter 1**

_The rain that had previously been pouring down hard on the streets of Hillwood city began to cease, and in the midst of it all were two little blonde children embracing in an alley._

_The police had run off to capture Miranda, so they were alone as the rain began getting lighter and lighter and the sun began to shine through amidst the clouds, warming all the well deserved citizens of Hillwood and all the flowers began to blossom._

_Helga continued to rub his back and whisper soothing words to him. Occasionally she'd allow herself to let her hand run through his cornflower locks and catch a whiff of his scent. "Shhh, everything's okay now. No ones going to hurt you. Not now, and not ever again. Everything's fine. There's no reason to be afraid anymore."_

_Arnold, feeling the rain letting up and Helga's soothing words and actions, let his vice grip on the girl loosen a little. Helga then, taking it the wrong way, began pulling back from the embrace. She just knew this couldn't last forever._

_Arnold felt her letting go and quickly grabbed her back to him, holding her tight as if he was being denied sleeping with his favorite teddy bear._

_She was surprised by this, but figured he was still a little traumatized. She should really get him someplace warm and have him eat some nice soup or something. That would really help settle him down. So, once again, she attempted to let go and get out of the embrace._

_He yelped, almost as if it was painful for him, and pulled her back. "No... stay... no..." He whimpered, holding her close. He didn't want to lose her warmth, it was too comforting and... nice. He didn't want her to pull back, because then he wouldn't be able to smell her scent anymore. She smelled like vanilla... only somehow sweeter and more intoxicating. And she was soft too... so soft._

_She sighed, and gave in, rubbing his back once more and whispering soothing words. She loved this. She really did. But she had already raised so much suspicion... but she couldn't push him away. He was scared, and needed comfort... plus she was in love with him, so it was near impossible to refuse him._

_He felt her return to the embrace and smiled, holding her tight. He wasn't sure what was going on with him... but this girl saved his life, Helga G. Pataki or not, she saved his life. She was special, and he didn't want to let her go. Everything about her was so comforting and sweet. Her words, her touch, her feel, her scent. She was just one big walking basket of love and sweetness... and confoundit, he didn't want it to go away._

_He felt adoration and affection bubble up inside of him once more, and he felt weak at her touch. He slouched a little against her, and began runnning his hand through the softness of one of her pigtails. The rain had caused them to slouch behind her back a great deal, so he could reach one easily. It was so soft and silky._

_That smell... what was that smell? It was swirling around his head, and he couldn't... Helga. It was Helga. She smelled so... nice._

_He let out a shaky breath as he felt her soft hair, her intoxicating aroma, her gentle touch, her caring words. He felt her kiss the top of his head comfortingly, and all his senses suddenly went into a tizzy, and his heart skipped a beat. _

_Helga felt him slouch, and his breathing get more ragged, and took this all as a bad sign. She needed to get him home. Home to his family. They'd take much better care of him than she could. As much as she hated to admit it... she wasn't what he needed. He didn't need her. Granted, he did right now. She had saved him from possibly... probably... She gulped, not even being able to think of such a terrible thing happening to her beloved. But bottom line, right now all she was was a tool. She saved him, he's safe, he needs comfort, so of course he's clinging to her for dear life. She's like his life line in a way... but only for the moment. She needed to get him home. They'd take care of him. The people he actually did need. It would better that way._

_She once again attempted getting out of the embrace, this time succeeding as he seemed weak... for some reason._

_She pulled back, but he couldn't quite find the strength to grab her back. He was beaten and bruised and still a little shaken up. She pulled back all the way, and he... felt pained to see her go. He didn't like her not to be close anymore. _

_She grabbed his hand, and pulled him up gently. He stumbled a bit, and was about to fall, but she quickly caught him, pulling him to her for support. _

_He felt contented again, as she was close to him, and he could once again feel her warmth. Not as powerfully as before, but this would do... for now._

_She walked him to his house in silence, and knocked on the door as he leaned against her, cuddling her almost. She wanted to swoon, wanted to pull him to her right then and there and kiss him with a lifetime's worth of craving and need... but that would only shake him up more. He didn't need anymore trouble put on him. He didn't deserve some desperately lovesick girl taking advantage of him while he was in his weakest and at his most vulnerable. Yes, she loved him, madly so... but she loved him too much to lay something so stressful and big right when he had almost... almost..._

_Ugh, she just couldn't even think it. That could never happen, she'd surely die then. From depression and heart ache, and all the 'maybes' and 'could have beens' would've eaten at her soul until she became nothing but a hollow shell of what she used to be._

_She waited patiently with a rather loopy Arnold leaning on her. _

_She couldn't see, but he was smiling, and his eyes were closed in ecstasy of having her here. He leaned on her harder, feeling the inane need to be closer to her._

_The door opened and Helga had to dodge a sea of animals that suddenly rushed out. She yelped, bringing Arnold closer to her for protection, much to his delight. _

_In the doorway, stood an old man... Helga recognized him as Arnold's grandpa._

_She looked up at him, no real expression on her face other than attentiveness._

_The man saw Arnold leaning on her, noticing the small smile on his grandson's face, and he raised an eyebrow for show. He then noticed his black eye and the few bruises spread about his face and the ripped part of his clothing. He gasped, and instantly led them inside. "What happened?"_

_Helga struggled to keep Arnold propped up against her, and he straightened to try and help her, though he refused to cease leaning on her form... her soft, warm, sweet smelling form... He smiled again, his eyes still closed._

_Helga didn't notice though, as she answered the elder's question. "Well, apparently there's been some stupid bully that's been terrorizing him. I caught her trying to... to... k-k-k-k-ill..." She gulped, unconsciously gripping him tighter to her. "... him... and so I broke her arm. Luckily there were some cops nearby. They went chasing her down the road. So... here he is." She tried to hand him off to his grandfather, but he yelped again, grabbing her._

_Phil chuckled, feeling grateful to the girl. He'd deal with Arnold later. For now, it was obvious he was clinging to his savior... who just happened to be the girl who was obsessively in love with him. He chuckled again. "Oh, I guess he doesn't want you to leave just yet. How about you stay for a little while to help comfort the poor boy."_

_Helga looked up at him, and he winked. She was startled, but it only took her a moment to register that he knew of her secret. That unnerved her a bit, since he was Arnold's own grandpa, but if he had intended on spilling the beans, he would have done it sooner. So she just smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure."_

_He smiled back at her, and began leading them up the stairs. "Now you'd better take the Shortman up to his room. I'll have Pookie make him some nice, hot soup to help unrattle his nerves." He ducked down to whisper in her ear. "Ya still know where his room is?"_

_She looked at him, and frowned before nodding._

_He just chuckled and walked off to the kitchen._

_She led Arnold up the stairs, and down the hall. She feigned confusion then. "So where's your room, Hairboy?"_

_He opened his eyes, and led her weakly further down the hall, then pulling the cord down to reveal a staircase that led to his room. "I-It's up there..." He told her, pointing up the stairs to the door._

_She nodded, and led him up the stairs as he continued to lean on her. She opened the door, and led him over to his bed, forgetting to feign surprise in seeing his room. He didn't seem to notice or care though._

_She helped him onto the bed, and pulled his computer chair over so she could sit at his bed side._

_He sat up a little, and looked at her, confused. "Why?" He asked finally._

_She blinked. "Why what?"_

_"Why did you save me?" He elaborated._

_She rolled her eyes. "Like I was really just gonna let her kill you. I'm not **that** cold hearted."_

_"Okay, then why did you comfort me...? Why are you here?"_

_She looked around his room uneasily. "Well... you were... pretty freaked out... so I just figured... Why not?" She shrugged, laughing nervously._

_He shook his head. "Any decent person with enough courage would've saved me... but you went beyond that, Helga. You comforted me and walked me home... but your my bully... I just want to know why... because it doesn't make sense. You hate me."_

_She looked down, not sure what to say. "I..." She sighed and looked back up at him with her mouth quirked to one side a little. "Look, it's no big deal. You don't need a reason. Just say thanks and we'll not think anymore of it."_

_He was in awe of how selfless she was being about this... or maybe she just didn't want to admit to doing something nice. He leaned forward a little, and pulled her out of the chair, hugging her. "Thank you... Helga." He breathed, once again feeling her warmth and smelling her sweet scent._

_She smiled goofily, and let her eyes fall half-lidded, her whole form slouching weakly at his affection. And the best part was that there was no one here to ruin it and make fun of her. Of course there was the risk of him thinking she enjoyed him hugging her, which she did. But she couldn't push him away. She just couldn't. He was just grateful. What was the harm in one little hug? _

_She let out a quiet lovesick sigh and patted him on the back gently, then rubbed his back. "It was nothing." She said, gently... laced with love and affection._

_He hugged her a little tighter. "You saved my life, Helga. That's hardly nothing. How can I ever thank you enough?" He said, and then flashes of everything he had been through passed through his mind's eye. Flashes of abuse, horrid, hateful names, and so many days filled with terror and sorrow. He felt tears begin to spring back to life in his eyes, and he let out a choked sob._

_She heard his choked sob, and gasped. She sat up on the bed and pulled him back into an embrace. Patting his back as he cried into her shoulder, holding her tightly. "It's okay, Arnold. She can't hurt you anymore. You're safe now. No more pain. It's all over." She soothed, rubbing his back. She hated seeing him like this. "My poor little angel..." She muttered under her breath, running her hands through his hair._

_He felt her words run over him like a caress, and once again he felt adoration swell up in his heart. Yes. He **was** safe. Thanks to Helga. Helga, who was so sweet, and caring, and kind. Helga who smelled so wonderfully intoxicating. Helga who's touch was sending shivers up and down his spine. His tears didn't cease, as he laid a chaste kiss on her neck... which turned into another... and another... until he was simply running kisses up her neck slowly._

_Her eyes widened, and she froze, unable to move. This had to be a dream. Arnold. **Her** Arnold, was kissing her neck. She felt every nerve in her body freeze up in both shock and pleasure as he continued his sweet kisses._

_He kissed further up her neck, till he made it to her jaw, which he also kissed. He kissed her ear quick, and then resumed kissing her jaw, still holding her close. His mind was clouded over with adoration and all the signals running from his nose, making him perfectly aware of her beautiful scent. He kissed along her jaw, and then kissed her cheek, then her nose, before finally capturing her lips in his, allowing one hand to hide itself in her soft, golden hair._

_Her eyes went the size of dinner plates, and if she thought her body was frozen before, then now she was on the verge of going into rigor mortis... and she wasn't even dead!_

_He ran his free hand up and down her back, tracing her spine. _

_"Thank-" Kiss. "-you,-" Kiss, kiss. "-Helga." He breathed between kisses, before simply kissing her again._

_She felt her eyelids getting heavy and soon they fell shut, and she held him to her, finally returning the kiss with as much passion as she could muster... which was a **lot**._

_The kiss deepened before long and they remained like that for as long as possible._

_Soon the lack of air got to them and they parted, panting quietly. Arnold stared at her through half-lidded eyes, the more rational side of his brain screaming for him to stop this madness, while the other side that was going insane with adoration for the girl hog tied the other part of his brain and yelled for him to keep going._

_Helga stared back through her own half-lidded lovesick gaze, panting softly. She had concluded not too long ago that this was indeed a dream, so there would be no repercussions. What was the harm in a hug, or a kiss... or two... or more. She smiled at him dreamily._

_He kissed her lips once more tenderly, before bowing his head back to her neck to lay more kisses there, brimming with sweetness and affection._

_Helga felt like dead weight as she sat there, just holding him as he kissed her. She allowed him to kiss her, not much caring to realize that this in fact was reality and her secret would be blown... but then again, he was the one who started all this. So maybe he liked her back?_

_There it was. Why was he doing this? It was all so random. He had never liked her before. There were no signs. She didn't catch him staring at her. She didn't notice him doing anything abnormal when she got close to him. And she was a stalker, for Pete's sakes! She listened in on his conversations with his best friend, and he never even talked about her. Sure there was the occasional, "She's not that bad, Gerald." or "She's an okay person.", but never anything that would prove him to have any sort of affections for her. So why the sudden kisses and hugs? _

_A light bulb went over her head then. She had just saved him. She saved his life. He was grateful... and was probably mistaking gratefulness for love or something. So he was just... rewarding her, kind of. He **thought** he liked her, probably. His head was just jumbled up for the time being. As soon as he came back to his senses, he wouldn't want to kiss her anymore. No. Everything would go back to normal. With her love being unrequited. So all she was really doing right now was proving to him that she loved him... that she enjoyed him kissing on her and holding her close._

_No. She couldn't let this happen. He was just thankful to her. He was mistaking that to be affection. This was silly._

_She felt like crying then, and probably would have if she wasn't enjoying this so much. How was she supposed to get out of this? She could still feel his tears running down his cheeks still and onto her shoulder. Poor baby... How could she turn him away? Especially since she liked it so much. Strike that. **Loved** it so much. But this was wrong, and he was confused. _

_She reluctantly pushed him off of her gently, and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Arnold... but I think you're a little confused right now."_

_He whimpered at being denied more of her warmth and soft skin. He wanted to jump back on her and kiss her again... but what was he doing? This was Helga. She was his bully, his tormentor, his own personal verbal abuser... also his rescuer, his savior, his little angel who smelled so nice and was treating him so sweetly..._

_He shook his head. What was wrong with him? He should just thank her, and give her a warm hug... then nothing more. Why was he feeling so different around her now...? Just because she was so soft, and warm... and had that beautiful voice..._

_He shook his head again, and put a hand to his head to try and calm himself. "You're right... I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me." He ran a hand through one of his stocks of unruly hair, and he couldn't help but notice how it didn't feel nearly as nice as when she did it. He shook his head again. "My heads still a little boggled right now... that's all."_

_She forced herself to roll her eyes. "Well, **obviously**..."_

_The door opened then, and in walked his grandpa with a tray of soup. He sat it down on the night stand and sat in the chair placed by the bed. "Hey there, Shortman. Ya hungry?"_

_Arnold blinked, and looked over at the soup. He smiled at his grandpa appreciatively and nodded. "A little... I actually could use something to eat."_

_Helga got off the bed and stretched, then rubbed the back of her neck rather stiffly. "Great. So the football head is okay now. Am I permitted to leave?" She asked, more directed at Arnold than Phil._

_Arnold really didn't want her to go. He still felt the strange desire to hold her close and be wrapped tenderly in her warm embrace... but that was crazy, wasn't it? It would pass. Everything was just weird right now._

_He took a big spoon full of his soup and slurped it up quick to try and numb his senses and calm the frantic beating of his heart. He smiled at her, and gave her a thumbs up. "I'll be fine now. Thanks, Helga... for everything."_

_She waved it off nonchalantly and headed for the door. "Think nothing of it. It was no problem. See you at school tomorrow... if your up to going." She looked at him for some kind of verification that he'd be attending school._

_He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm still a little..." He looked away, rubbing his sore arm. "...shaken up."_

_She looked at him for a moment, hesitating. "Well... I could walk with you to school... If it would calm you nerves." She shrugged, trying desperately to make it seem nonchalant._

_He was surprised by her kind proposition, but then again, this whole experience with her was a pretty big surprise. He smiled after a moment and nodded. "That's awfully nice of you, Helga."_

_"Oh, it's nothing. But if your not up to it..."_

_"No, I am, that would be nice. Sure, Helga."_

_"Great, so... I'll see ya tomorrow." She walked out the door quick and ran out of the house, ignoring his grandmother's yells of "OH, Eleanor! Where are you off to in such a hurry?"._

_She ran down the steps, and then put her hands to her heart, letting out a lovesick squeal of joy before fainting right there on his stoop._

_Back up in Arnold's room, his grandpa was smirking at him now. He leaned forward in his chair, giving his grandson knowing eyes. "So... Helga saved ya?"_

_Arnold looked at him, surprised by his weird tone. "Uh... yeah..."_

_His grandpa grinned, and chuckled a little. "You seemed awfully chummy with that girl."_

_Arnold's eyes widened for a second at what he was implying, but then he just rolled his eyes, laying back on his bed. "Grandpa... She's just a friend."_

_His grandpa sighed, realizing he was probably not going to get any further in this. He then frowned at Arnold. "So... you've had some girl beating on you?"_

_A flash of terror passed his green eyes, and he almost cried again... but he held it back. He regretted having Helga go now. He looked at his grandpa then, and Phil saw the terror in his eyes and frowned._

_Arnold sat up, and buried his face in his hands. "She said she would kill you guys if I told you... or anyone..." He said quietly, struggling to keep his tears at bay._

_Phil rubbed Arnold's back soothingly. "Well, you should have told us anyway, so we could've called the police... How long had this been going on."_

_Arnold let out a choked sob, and Phil's eyes widened. He had never seen Arnold cry before. This must have really traumatized him. He rubbed his back still, and spoke as soothingly as he could, "Now, Arnold, there's no need to cry anymore. It's all over. We won't let that mean bully hurt you anymore."_

_Arnold let out a shaky breath. It was over. Everything was over. No more cruel names, or beatings. He was safe now._

_Thanks to Helga._

* * *

Arnold awoke the next day, and instantly remembered that he had to go to school... and that Miranda would probably be waiting in an alley to beat him. He looked around his room to make sure she wasn't around, before getting out of bed, trembling.

He got dressed and walked down the stairs slowly. "I can do this. I can do this." He repeated, hoping against hope he'd be okay today.

He walked down the remainder of the steps, and looked in the kitchen to see his grandparents looking at him worriedly. He walked in, and looked at them questioningly. "What's wrong?"

His grandpa walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ya going to be okay today, Arnold?"

Arnold looked up at him in surprise, and a flash of fear crossed over his features. Did they find out about Miranda?

He gulped. "I-I guess so..." He muttered, hoping they hadn't found out.

His grandpa nodded, and patted his back. "Well... okay, then, Shortman. Have a good day at school." He smiled a little at him.

Arnold smiled back weakly, still wondering what that was about before opening up the front door of his house. He looked around to make sure Miranda wasn't around, and began descending the steps slowly, his eyes closed now. "I can do this." He said, yet again.

Once at the bottom, he felt someone put a hand on his shoulder and his eyes snapped open in fear, and he instantly took a step back, falling onto the steps of his stoop and his books falling everywhere.

"No..." He whimpered, closing his eyes tight then.

"Arnold?" He heard a familiar voice say worriedly. He opened his eyes then to see Helga standing there, looking down at him with worried blue eyes.

He began breathing funny and struggled not to cry.

Helga saw this and terror passed her features before she snatched him up and hugged him close, rubbing his back. "Shhh, it's okay, Arnold. Remember? Miranda's gone. The police caught her now. She's gone. You're safe. I won't let anyone hurt you."

It was then that these familiar actions occurred, that the memories of yesterday flashed in his mind. He remembered everything, and instantly swung his arms around her, clinging to her again. "Helga!" He cried, feeling an immense relief pass over him.

Helga frowned sadly. He was scarred. She hated to see him so terrified. It was clear that he had forgotten everything from yesterday and had just remembered. He was going to try and go back to school alone thinking that that nasty monster was still out there to get him. Poor thing...

She let out her own little whimper as she rubbed his back. It hurt her greatly to see him like this. She could feel him clinging to her for dear life again, and even though she loved having him so close... she hated the reasons behind it. "Shhh, yeah, it's okay now. Your safe. No more pain, Arnold. You're safe."

He shut his eyes tight and held her close, as if she'd melt right our of his arms. "Oh, Helga... I thought... I thought..." He cried then, and she felt completely horrified. How dare that she-devil **_Miranda_** do this to him.

She embraced him firmer. "Everything's fine. No ones going to hurt you anymore. Now we've gotta get to school now. You still up to it?" She asked, lifting his chin up.

He looked into her caring blue eyes and suddenly felt very weak. He smiled best he could and nodded.

She nodded back and let him go, to which he reluctantly did also. He already missed her warmth... He shook his head. Something was wrong with him. He couldn't quite pinpoint it, but he knew something had changed drastically with him.

Oh well. He'd think about it later.

* * *

**A/N: Yuppity doo, that's the end of part one and now on to part two!**

**YAY! Kinda dark, right? But did it also give you little tinglys? If not, then part two definitely will. XD**

**I'm not sure how long this is gonna be. Probably about two to three chapters. Yeah, it's gonna be a little short. ****:/ And yet really long! :D**

**So... hope you enjoyed!**

**REVIEW, FOO!**


	2. Maybe I'm just Insane

**A/N: Gloggily Gla Gloogly Gla Gloo... GLA!**

**Yeah, I'm beginning to run out of snappy greetings... so that will just have to do. =D**

***Begins in rough, husky sounding farmers voice* Here she is. Chapter two to the tingliest, most horrifying story ever written...... not counting "The Little Engine that Could". XD**

**Read! **

**Disclaimer: Didn't I already do this? *rolls eyes* Whatever. I don't own Hey Arnold! There, I did it again. Are ya happy?!?! I hope so, because I'm just plain annoyed. -_-**

* * *

**"Unexpected Savior Sequel: She Saved my Life**

**Chapter 2**

The two blondes walked into the classroom, that was luckily pretty vacant since it was so early in the morning. The only students there were Phoebe, because she loved learning and had a perfect attendance record to uphold, and Gerald, simply because he liked to flirt with Phoebe before class... also, for some reason, Curly was there in the back huddled up in a corner, muttering something to himself. Not that they really wanted to know why... Ignorance was usually bliss in matters of Curly.

Gerald turned at the sound of their footsteps and frowned. Arnold was sporting a black eye, and there were a few bruises on his face. Helga was with him, and for a split-second he thought she had beaten him up, that is until he noticed he was leaning on her. This observation caused Gerald to raise an eyebrow.

Helga walked over to Arnold's desk, him still leaning on her, and helped him into his seat. He smiled at her, and since there was no one around really, she offered a smile back and patted him on the head before walking over to her own desk behind him and sitting down.

Gerald, who was sitting next to him as usual, leaned over to Arnold and asked, "Man, what happened to you?"

"Well, _apparently_ there's been some bully terrorizing him for the past few who-knows-what's, and she tried to murder him yesterday." Helga interjected bluntly, her arms folded across her chest and her face set in it's usual cunning way.

Arnold took a deep breath to calm himself, and nodded in agreement with his eyes closed.

Gerald's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Say what?!"

Phoebe gasped also, and put a hand to her mouth. "Oh dear!"

Helga leaned forward in her desk, and rubbed Arnold's back for support. "Yup, luckily he's okay now, and that stupid monster got arrested yesterday."

Gerald scrambled forward and began patting Arnold on the back, his eyes wide and alarmed. "Man, why didn't you tell anyone?!"

Arnold looked at him, his eyes dull and his tone listless, "She said if I did she'd kill me, my family, and all my friends."

Helga frowned, and rubbed his head, not much caring that Gerald was there, and Phoebe knew her secret, so it didn't matter if she saw her openly showing concern for Arnold.

Arnold was certainly enjoying it. He smiled, and his eyes fell half-lidded as she soothingly rubbed his head and back. Gerald noticed this and raised an eyebrow, but then just shrugged it off and decided to ask, "So... How did it happen, man?"

Helga looked at Arnold, concerned, as she knew of how delicate the situation was for him. He could start crying again, and she hated to see him so sad and scared.

Fear flashed in his green eyes as he thought back on it... the kicking, and all her yells and curses... and how the more he cried and pleaded the more she hurt him. He shut his eyes tight to keep his tears from falling. "Well... she... was punching and k-kicking me... and then she _just_... p-p-pulled out a **knife**... and she was going to... to..." He began visibly breathing hard, which alarmed Gerald. He had never seen Arnold so upset before.

Helga's eyes widened also and she got out of her desk to stand next to him on the left side of his desk, hugging him sideways as he struggled to keep himself from breaking down. She rubbed his back, and ran her hands through his hair for comfort, all the while scowling at Gerald. "Look... It _doesn't _matter how it happened, **_Geraldo_**. Now you've got him all upset, and I _won't_ have it. Do you have any idea how long it took me to settle his nerves enough to where I could take him home yesterday?"

Gerald blinked at her. "Why were you there?"

"I found that stupid _monster_ trying to slice his head open, so I pushed her down. She threw a few punches, I threw a few punches, one thing led to another and she ended up with a broken arm and a shattered ego." She smirked. "She ran away down the street and the police ran after her, caught her, handcuffed her, the works... And Arnold here was shaking like a leaf on the ground. I had to comfort him for a pretty long while before I was finally able to get him home."

Gerald gawked at her. _**Helga**_, of all people, saved him?! He did a double take and realized that she was perfectly serious... not to mention she was comforting him _again_. He blinked again, and then looked at Arnold.

He was really enjoying the attention, wasn't he? He was just sitting there now, smiling with his eyes still closed as she ran her hands through his hair. He seemed so _content_...

Gerald's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed backward in his desk.

Phoebe gasped and leaned forward in her desk to see if he was okay.

Helga's eyes widened and Arnold opened his eyes to see what was the matter, since her comforting actions had frozen for some reason. He saw Gerald laying back in his desk with his eyes rolled back, and his tongue drooping out. His eyes widened. "Gerald?"

"Hey, Pheebs, what's wrong with the weirdo?"

Phoebe looked him over, pressing her delicate fingers along his neck to check his pulse, and let out a sigh of relief. A giggle escaped her lips. "It appears he's passed out." She giggled again, pressing a hand to her mouth to try and conceal her incessant giggles.

Helga raised one side of her eyebrow and removed her hands from Arnold to place them on her hips. "He fainted? What a loser..." She muttered under her breath, her eyes looking off to the side.

Arnold stared at Gerald, not quite sure what to make of his best friend fainting. "Will he be okay?" He asked Phoebe, slight concern tinting his words.

She giggled again. "Oh, he'll be perfectly fine, Arnold... I guess he was just a little shocked."

Both Arnold and Helga blinked, then looked at eachother with questioning looks before looking back at Phoebe. "Shocked by what?" They asked in unison.

Phoebe blinked, surprised that they didn't know. It did seem quite obvious, but then again, so did a lot of things to Phoebe. "Just that Helga was so kind to you, and that Arnold seemed to be-..." Her eyes widened at what she had been about to say, and she coughed quick to try and cover it up best she could. "It's just that Helga openly despises you, so-" She gave a quick glance at Helga. "-hearing that Helga, of all people, saved your life... is a bit shocking."

"It was weird for me too... but I always knew Helga was a good person." He smiled up at the taller blonde.

She looked down at him, seeing the happiness radiate in his green eyes. She could feel her own lips quirk up at the sides, unable to look at such a sweet face without smiling. "Like I said before... I couldn't just let her _kill_ you. That would be low, even for me... I'd probably die of guilt."

He smiled softly at her, his eyes set half-lidded in a knowing gaze.

Helga sighed, seeing his look, which was secretly causing her knees to become very weak, and her heart to thunder. She forced her eyes to roll up, then look away to avoid her knees giving out and falling right then and there under his gaze.

Gerald began to stir, and everyones' attention turned back on him. He put a hand to his stack of black hair and blinked a couple times, feeling both groggy and confused. "What happened?"

"You fainted," Helga deadpanned, ending with a rather evil snicker. "Like a wittle _girl_." She openly chuckled now.

Arnold had to hold back his own laughter for the sake of his friendship, and Phoebe hid her giggles behind _both_ her hands this time.

Gerald's eyes widened at the apparent news._ He _had fainted? But he was supposed to be the _cool_ one with the level head, and calm demeanor... well, _most_ of the time, at least. He glared at Helga for her comment, and then snapped back to the fact that he had passed out. "Why did I do that?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "Well, apparently it's **shocking** that _I _have a heart."

Arnold absently reached a hand back to pat her arm, but kept his eyes focused on Gerald. "We just told you why I was bruised... and Helga began comforting me, and then you fainted." He said quietly, not much caring to go back to all the flashes of the past... with Miranda.

He frowned, and sought comfort in Helga by pulling her down to his level gently and nuzzling his head in her neck. She frowned outwardly, though secretly squealing inside that he was coming to her for comfort, and rubbed his back. "It's okay." She muttered softly, then noticed Gerald's stunned look. She rolled her eyes. "He's still weird when it comes to the subject of..." She looked down at the boy she adored for a second, then flicked her eyes back to his, whispering. "... _his unpleasant encounters with that monster_."

Gerald's mind flashed the memories of her explaining all this to him before he passed out, and he nodded, offering his own comforting pat on the back for Arnold, as the blonde boy shook a little with both fear and sadness.

Helga growled at his trembling, and held him firmer. "Why I outta march right down to the slammer **right** now and give that hideous monster a piece of my mind... and fist." She cracked her knuckles behind Arnold back, scowling menacingly, then resumed rubbing his back up and down.

Arnold heard her comment, and for once... he didn't object. He _hated_ Miranda... which stuck him as both unnerving and odd. He very seldom took dislike of anybody... not even Helga was on his list of "hated people". Especially not now, right now... with her soothing, gentle words... and wonderful sweet vanilla scent... her electric touch... Why, she might even qualify to be on his list of "lo-

"Good morning, everyone!" Mr. Simmons announced happily to the four... or five if you wanted to count Curly in the corner scheming something.

Arnold shook his head lightly to relieve himself of his thoughts. He lifted his head from Helga's shoulder and she wiped away his tears with her hand quick before standing back up, and stroking his hair back quick before returning to her desk behind him.

Mr. Simmons turned around from the board, and smiled at them all, obviously not noticing Arnold's black eye. "I'm so glad to see you all here so early. It's very _special!_" He glanced around at the four students, and his eyes suddenly settled on Arnold. He gasped. "Arnold, what happened to you? You look awful."

Helga made a motion of out-stretching her fingers on one hand and sliding it over her throat, signalling for him not to ask.

His eyes widened, but then he narrowed them slightly, looking at Helga and speaking slowly in a pre-scolding tone with his hands on his hips, "_Helga_... you didn't beat up Arnold, did you?"

Helga slapped a hand to her forehead, and slid it down her face in exhasperation. "_No_."

Mr. Simmons looked back and forth from the two blondes, and sighed, deciding to put the subject to rest... for now.

Arnold's bottom lip quivered a second, but he quickly inhaled a deep breath sharply, and let it out to calm himself. He kept reminding himself not to think about _Miranda_, but it must not have been working too good because a small choke escaped his throat and his shoulders quivered slightly. Helga quick leaned forward and rubbed his head and back, shushing him softly.

He suddenly felt at peace... though he wasn't sure why. All thoughts of Miranda dissipated, replaced only with the feeling of the gentle movements of Helga's hands. He wasn't sure _how_ she was doing it, but she was making him feel really... good. He lifted his collar up a bit and noted that it held her scent on it. This caused him to sigh contently, and then to pat the female hand that was on his shoulder to tell her he was okay now. Once he felt her ministrations cease, he leaned forward a little, and smiled goofily.

Something was _majorly_ wrong with him.

* * *

Arnold walked into the cafeteria and his eyes automatically skimmed around for a certain pink wearing blonde. He found her sitting across the cafeteria, with her head in her arms, her blue eyes scanning the cafeteria and her entire expression attentive to the crowd. Her eyes met his, and his throat went dry. He managed a small, shaky smile, and was about to wave, but Gerald suddenly came over and started dragging him over to the lunch line by his arm. "Come on, man! I don't want them to run out of tapioca before I get some."

Arnold nodded as they now stood in line, and he shifted his weight from one leg to the other repeatedly, his eyes wondering around in different directions.

Gerald eyed his actions closely, once again noticing something weird about him. "Man, is there anything _other_ than your recent beat down that's wrong?"

The line moved forward, but Gerald didn't hear any footsteps behind him. He turned slightly to see Arnold staring at something... or someone across the cafeteria. Gerald blinked in bewilderment and grabbed his shorter friend's arm, pulling him forward in the line forcefully. "What's up with you today, Arnold?"

Arnold eyed him uneasily, and then looked away. "I don't know... It could be nothing... I just..."

The line moved forward again, and the two boys grabbed a tray, walking further down the line and picking up food and placing it on their trays as they went. They paid for their food and walked over to an empty table. They sat their trays down and then took their seats beside eachother, as Gerald eyed him expectantly.

Arnold sighed finally, opening up his milk and taking a big gulp. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and sat his milk down, noticing Gerald's expectant gaze. He sighed again. "I... I don't know what's up with me either. I think the whole..." He gulped up a big breath before continuing. "_M-Miranda_... thing has still got my head a little frazzled." He sat his head in his hand, and absently pushed his peas around his plate with his fork.

Gerald took a bite of his sandwich, a pensive look on his face as he chewed, before swallowing and setting his sandwich down. "That could be. What makes you think that, though? I mean sure you've been weird all day... but it hasn't just been from crying and going hysterical at the mention of Mira-..." He saw Arnold tense from the corner of his eye, and quickly coughed to try and cover up his mistake. "What I mean is, I think there's more than... _your past situations_... that's bothering you." He finished cautiously, taking another bite of his sandwich.

Arnold sighed, and flicked a pea across the table and onto the floor. He watched it as it flew, and when it was in the air, it ran over something in his line of vision... something pink with blonde hair done up in pigtails. He gazed at her, completely forgetting about the pea. He watched as she snickered at something Phoebe said, and couldn't help but notice how her eyes seemed to sparkle when she laughed... or how she pushed one of her pigtails up and down and stuck her nose up high... probably doing her Rhonda impression... and then he watched as she opened up her lunch box, and all the light in her eyes instantly faded. He watched in concern as she seemed almost... sad... but then it quickly turned to anger and she pulled out a small packet of crackers from her lunch box, and threw it on the ground. He noticed that nothing else seemed to fall out when she did that. It had been empty. So... the only thing her parents packed her for lunch was an individual packet of _crackers_?

He blinked, feeling completely baffled. Were her parents that neglectful of her? How could anyone ignore someone so... feisty and vivacious... and _sweet_ and _caring _with hair so golden and eyes so hypnotically blu-...

He shook his head to relieve it of anymore thoughts of her, and then glanced down at his lunch. He really didn't feel like eating... He glanced back up at her as she popped a tiny cracker in her mouth and chewed angrily, crushing the remainder of the small crackers in the packet in her fist. He then looked back down at his own tray of uneaten food. He stood up, picking up his tray, and walked over to her table. She looked up at him, surprised. He smiled nervously at her and sat his tray before her. His lunch consisted of a pastrami sandwich (His personal favorite), some peas, a fruit cup, and some tapioca pudding. She looked down at the lunch, and then snapped her mesmerizing blue eyes back up to his. She gestured at the tray with her hands, and asked, shock clear in her voice, "What... why... _huh?_"

Arnold smiled at her, and patted her hand as it rested on the table. "I saw you didn't have any lunch, and I wasn't really hungry anyway, so I thought you'd like mine... _and_ I'm still really grateful to you for saving me, Helga."

"Arnold, I told you it was nothing. You don't have to do this..." She eyed him suspiciously. "You're not going to go off and devote your life to being my slave now, are you? Because if you even tried... I'd be forced to pound you into the dust." She said with a hint of actual playfulness in her voice.

He laughed, and shook his head with a slight grin. "Don't worry, Helga. I would never go _that_ far. But... I am grateful... If you ever need anyone to talk to... I'm always here." He said softly, smiling at her with his head tilted slightly.

Time stood still for a few fleeting moments as he looked at her, until she finally blinked. She tore her eyes away from his and looked down at the tray of food, and then back up at him. "I know, Arnold. Thanks for the food... But really, you don't _have_ to-"

"I want to." He said, but then noticing the odd expression she casted his way, he added quickly, "I mean, I'm not going to eat it anyway, and I don't want it to go to waste... and you looked upset that you didn't have any lunch... It's just the right thing to do."

She rolled her eyes, a small, almost undetectable smile playing on her lips. "And **_everyone_** knows that the day Arnold doesn't do the right thing is the day a space ship lands on top of the school to finally takes _Brainy_ back to his home planet." She smiled when Arnold laughed, and snickered a little herself.

Phoebe smiled at the exchange between the two blondes and decided to excuse herself discreetly to get herself another milk.

Helga and Arnold both managed to get their laughter under control and just grinned at eachother, with Arnold's hands clasped behind his back. Helga realized who she was talking to, though, and forced her grin to drop along with her eyes. "Thanks, Arnold." She rewarded him with one of her rare, genuine smiles.

Arnold melted at the sight, and nodded before floating back over to his table with Gerald.

Gerald blinked at him, and then slid an arm around his friend's shoulders, talking to him quietly. "Arnold... you're crushin' on Helga."

Arnold's eyes stayed half-lidded as he stared at Helga from across the cafeteria, delighting in how her eyes lit up with sheer joy when she took that first bite of the salami. "Hmmm?" He hummed absentmindedly, not even glancing at him.

Gerald rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers in front of Arnold's face. He snapped back to reality and looked at Gerald. "I'm sorry... what did you say?"

Gerald resisted the urge to roll his chocolate brown eyes again, and looked at Arnold with a blank face. "You're crushin' on Helga." He stated bluntly.

Arnold had just been taking a sip of his milk, but as soon as those four forbidden words left his best friend's lips, the chocolate milk went spraying from his lips and across the table. He coughed, rubbing his eyes with his wrists. "_Gerald_..." He stopped rubbing his eyes and looked at him with wide, stunned eyes. "Gerald, that's completely crazy! I don't have a crush on Helga."

Gerald let out an exasperated grunt. "Arnold... my man, we've known eachother for years... practically our entire lives! I've always been the one to listen to your lovesick rambling when you've liked someone. I think I know when you have a crush on someone." He crossed his arms, and looked at him through half-lidded knowing eyes that clearly stated, _'You know I'm right.'_.

Arnold shook his head indignantly, a sigh escaping his lips. "But that's just it, Gerald. I've had plenty of crushes... but this doesn't feel like a crush." He leaned his head in his hand and stared at Helga as she talked to Phoebe about something, absentmindedly popping the little green peas in her mouth. As silly as it was, that small movement completely captured his interest. Each time she'd pick one up and pop it in her mouth, he felt... weird. It was just the way she did it... He had never really liked peas, but something about her eating them right now made them seem much more... appealing. Or maybe it was just her. He shook his head vigorously and let out an annoyed grunt.

Gerald saw this and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean it doesn't feel like a crush? If not a crush... then what?" He took a big gulp of his milk and picked his sandwich back up, taking a bite.

Arnold raked a hand through his hair in frustration as he watched her. "I don't know... It just feels... different. Like when I liked Lila, I thought she smelled nice, but that was pretty much the end of that. When I smelled _Helga_... I couldn't get the scent outta my brain and it seemed to swirl around my head endlessly. It made me feel weak, almost... and I actually _liked_ it... And then when she laughs... it's like the whole room lights up..." He sighed, and shook his head in remorse. "I don't get it... it didn't really start until yesterday after she saved me... I mean, she held me and comforted me when I cried and I just couldn't help but... feel..." He growled a little and banged his head on the table. "I can't explain it." He muttered, as he rubbed his now throbbing head.

Gerald took on a pensive look and his chews became slower and more far apart. "Huh..." He concluded, now swallowing. "That's a little weird. Anything else you feel that might help us figure this out?"

Arnold blew some air out of his mouth, and stared at her again, as she continued to talk about something with Phoebe, in her usual animated way. "_Well_... when she touches me... I... it sends this funny little jolt throughout my body... and then when she..." He groaned in frustration and laid his head face down on the table, his words coming out a little muffled. "Like I said, I can't really explain it. I just feel _really_ good... and I want to be around her, and I get this weird urge to be close to her... and I mean **really** close..." He lifted his head, and stared at her again, pondering his feelings. "I want to hold her... which is kinda_ new _for me. Even the thought of holding Lila close felt a little awkward... but not with Helga... I can't even begin to explain all the weird, foreign feelings that I was having when she was holding me close and comforting me." He shook his head in complete bewilderment.

Gerald snickered a little, and shook his head, his eyes trained forward on nothing in particular as he spoke in a humored tone, "Man, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were in love with her."

Arnold's eyes snapped to his friend, but he didn't look back. He just kept his gaze forward with a tint of humor flashing in his eyes. "Gerald, that's insane."

Gerald laughed again, finally meeting his gaze. "Think about it, man. You've never felt like this before, you say that you can't get her smell out of your head, her touch sends jolts throughout you, you like it when she laughs it seems, you like being around her, you want to hold her..." He shook his head, but then looked at him again with slight curiosity. "Tell me... did anything else happen yesterday when she was comforting you?"

Arnold blinked, and quickly looked away, blushing madly.

Gerald saw this and squinted his eyes at him suspiciously. "What happened?"

Arnold laughed nervously, and grabbed his milk quick, throwing his head back as he gulped down the last of it. He then slammed the milk back down on the table, and folded his arms, still not meeting Gerald's gaze. "I kinda... sorta... might have... kissed her." He winced, closing his eyes tight to brace himself for whatever might come next out of the darker boy's mouth, and pulled his collar to relieve himself of the sudden heat that settled around him.

Gerald stared at him wide-eyed, his mouth slightly slack in shock. "Arnold... we're only nine!"

"I know! But... she just smelled so... good. Like vanilla almost, except it was so much sweeter. And she was so warm and soft... and her voice sounded like the most beautiful thing in the world... so sweet and caring, and full of compassion. I couldn't help but..."

"Lay a big wet one on her?" Gerald offered, his expression a cross between disgust and amusement.

Arnold shook his head in embarrassment and then nodded, shrugging lightly. "I guess..."

"Wow. So what did she do?"

He sighed sadly, and spoke in a depressed tone, "She pushed me away and said that I was confused... Why would I have been confused?" He scratched his head in bewilderment, his expression pensive.

"Well, maybe because you are." Gerald said flatly, and crossed his arms.

"Yeah... but not at the time. I didn't feel confused until after she pushed me away. It felt so natural to just want to kiss her and hold her close..." He struggled to keep the goofy smile off his face, and shook his head. "I don't understand. Why do I feel this way?"

Gerald rolled his eyes, and leaned his head in his hand as he stared at his friend. "Maybe 'cause you're in love with her."

Arnold snapped his eyes back at his in shock, but they quickly narrowed in irritation. "Gerald, that's completely crazy. It's **_Helga_**... she's bullied me practically my whole life!"

"Yeah, and then saved your life." Gerald muttered, sipping his milk absentmindedly.

Arnold looked down, pondering why she would do such a thing. He dismissed these thoughts though, and decided it best to think about it later. Right now he had a bigger problem at hand. His new found feelings for the pigtailed girl. He let out a long, drawn out sigh, suddenly feeling very exhausted. "Maybe I'm just going insane."

"Spoken like a true lovesick guy." Gerald sang with a smirk, purposely trying to annoy his best friend.

Arnold hit Gerald in the arm in pure annoyance, and huffed. "I'm not in love with her, and that's final. Why would I love Helga?! I mean... just because she's funny... and witty and... really smart... and..." His tone became soft and dreamy, as his eyes focused on Helga through lowered eyelids. "...strong willed, never afraid to speak her mind, has those beautiful blue eyes that sparkle when she laughs-"

"Arnold, do you realize what you're even doing?"

Arnold blinked, finally coming out of his daze. He realized what he had done, and his eyes widened. "Oh my gosh..." He turned to Gerald, his entire expression a mixture of shocked, alarmed, horrified, and even lovesick...

"I'm in love with Helga."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, this chapter kinda sucked. *Shrugs* But I think I got the message across. Next chapter will be the last... I hope.**

**And One Fine Wire, thank you for your idea... I'll definitely be putting that in the next chapter. It'll be short, but I think it'll get the point across.**

**BULLYS ARE LOW-LIVES AND GET THROWN IN THE SLAMMER!**

**Mwahahahahahahahahaha! XD**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this craptastic chapter. =D Next one will be up soon. Then I'll go back to attempting another chapter of "Hypnotizing Helga"... PROMISE!**

**In the meantime, though...**

**REVIEW!**

**No really, review! I am a vampire, and reviews are my blood. *Licks lips* Okay, I'm bloodaphobic, and that was really _BAAAAAAAAAAD_ imagery for me. So excuse me while I vomit...**


	3. Timber

**A/N: Hello, hi, hello, hi, hello, hi, yellow, pie, jello, sky, mellow, tie!**

**Excuse a' mwa! (That was spelled wrong for those who don't know.) **

***Clears throat obnoxiously for two minutes straight***

**SuprSingr (That's me! :D) is proud to present... THE THIRD CHAPTER!!!!! *Screams heard in backround***

**Indeed... So... uh, read.**

**Disclaimer: AGAIN?!?!?! Holy-****-And to your granny-****-And if I **_**did**_** own Hey Arnold! then I can tell you right now that I'd-****-Not to mention-**Censored**-and then I'd eat a pound of pie.**

* * *

**"Unexpected Savior" Sequel: She Saved my Life**

**Chapter 3**

Arnold dropped his head into his hands, and let out a long, drawn out groan. "I can't _believe_ this is happening..."

Gerald snickered at him, trying to hide it in his hand, before full blown laughter came out, and he laid his head on the table, bouncing up and down with silent laughter.

Arnold narrowed his eyes at him, and growled. "It's not funny, Gerald!"

He lifted his head back up, still chuckling slightly and wiped a tear from his eye with his finger. "Oh, but it is..." He chuckled. "Arnold has fallen for his bully... Helga G. Pataki... the good guy has fallen for the villain. Mr. Goody-Goody has fallen for Miss Meany-Mean. The eternal optimist has fallen for the eternal pessimist! How is that not funny...?" He began laughing again, and nearly fell out of his chair.

Arnold squinted his eyes at him. "She's not that bad, Gerald... otherwise I wouldn't feel this way."

Gerald finally managed to stop laughing, and sighed contently, a smile on his face and his eyes half-lidded. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and his face suddenly became very solemn. He turned to Arnold, and frowned greatly. "Oh, Arnold... This is bad."

"Why? Because Mr. Do-Good has fallen for Miss Trouble-Maker?" He asked flatly, his head resting in his hand as he stared at Helga absentmindedly.

Gerald sighed, and put a hand on his shoulder. "No, man... that Arnold has fallen for a girl who hates his guts."

Arnold lifted his head out of his hand a little, his eyes suddenly wide. "Oh... no." He let his head fall down onto the table. "This is going to be even worse than the Lila thing... isn't it? It's gonna hurt more...?" He sighed heavily.

Gerald nodded, although he knew Arnold couldn't see, and patted him on the back. "Sorry, man."

Arnold lifted his head up, his eyes seemingly dead. "Maybe I should have indulged a little more when I was kissing her yesterday... probably the last kiss I'll ever get from her." His eyes suddenly widened, and his jaw fell slightly slack, and he whispered, "Wait a minute... she kissed back." His eyes widened even more, and he straightened up in his seat. "She... kissed... back." He whispered again, blinking a couple times in astonishment.

Gerald couldn't hear him, though, as he shoved the last of his sandwich into his mouth, his words coming out slightly muffled, "You know, Arnold..." He chewed a little. "Maybe you do stand a chance... I mean," He swallowed. "... she did save your life, and has been rushing to your aid every time you get even slightly upset. Maybe she does like you." He shrugged. "But if not you could always have fun with all the 'Helga comforts you' stuff. Just pretend to be upset, and you get a hug. Trauma like this could last a pretty long time too... maybe she'd have to be by your side so much that once you get older, she'd agree to marry you." He laughed at that, and drank down the last of his milk.

Arnold pursed his lips together in thought, and scrunched his eyebrows down as he lifted his eyes to look at her, but as soon as he did, he was met by her own eyes. Her eyes widened after he'd caught her, before she scowled and went back to eating her sandwich, violently. "I think... I think she likes me, Gerald."

Gerald looked at him in surprise, and blinked a couple times. "What? Why?"

"Because..." He blinked once more in thought. "... she saved my life, comforted me, kissed me back when I kissed her, and I think... I think I just caught her staring at me."

Gerald blinked, taking a moment to drink all this in, before a wide smile appeared on his lips, and he patted Arnold on the back. "Great! Maybe this won't be so heart-breaking after all. So... Lover boy, when ya gonna tell her?"

Arnold glanced at him, a small, almost invisible smile pulling at his lips. "You're not weirded out by this?"

Gerald laughed lightly, and shook his head. "Nah, I'm sure I'll be waking up any time now." He waved it off, and gave off another light laugh.

Arnold looked at him, a little half-smile on his lips, and an eyebrow raised. "Gerald... you do realize this is really happening, right?"

Gerald rolled his eyes. "Come on, man. What do ya take me for? If this was real, I couldn't do this." He stood up, and Arnold's eyes widened, worrying about what he was planning on doing.

Gerald slicked his hair back, although it just bounced back up, and smiled suavely, sliding his way over to Helga and Phoebe's table.

He leaned on the table, and smiled coolly at Phoebe. "Hey, babe."

Phoebe looked at him in surprise, and then giggled. "Hello, Gerald. Was there something I could do for you?"

"Yeah... let me treat you to some ice cream on Saturday. What do you say?"

Helga grabbed her throat in both her hands, and turned away from them, pretending to throw up, which made Arnold laugh.

Phoebe's eyes widened even more, and she giggled. "Oh... well, my... yes, I'd like that very much."

Gerald threw her one last toothy grin, and wiggled his eyebrows, before turning back around and walking over to Arnold. He sat down slowly, and smirked at Arnold. "See? I never would have been able to do that in real life."

Arnold's eyes widened, and he struggled to keep himself from laughing again. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and put his hands on Gerald's shoulders, looking him straight in the eye. "Gerald... this is real. You. Are. Not. Asleep."

Gerald squinted his eyes at him. "Prove it..."

* * *

"Geez, Pheebs... I knew you had a thing for Tall Hair Boy... but I didn't know it was this bad."

Phoebe blushed, and smiled slightly. "Well, I-"

"**OW**!"

The two girls' eyes instantly snapped over to where Gerald was now rubbing his head, and Arnold stood there now with a long black hair in between his fingers, looking at Gerald seriously.

The two girls blinked simoltaneously, and Helga spoke then, "What the heck are those losers up to now?"

* * *

Arnold gave Gerald a serious look, as he held the long, thick black hair in between his index finger and thumb. "Believe me now?"

Gerald's movements stilled then, and his eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "No... no, then that means-"

"You should probably get her some flowers. I've found that girls like that."

Gerald glared at him. "Don't tell the master how to woo a lady."

Arnold rolled his eyes, and sat back down, throwing the hair over his shoulder carelessly.

Gerald took on a pensive look. "Okay, so let me get this straight... You, Arnold, are in love with Helga... and I now have a date with... Phoebe."

Arnold shook his head, but then grinned at him. "At least 'Dream Gerald' had enough courage to ask her out."

Gerald glared at him, but then his eyes went blank as he looked at the blonde. "So... you love Helga?"

Arnold sighed, and shrugged lightly, answering him, "I guess so... and I'm pretty sure she likes me in that way too... it would explain everything... but there's still the possibility... I mean, I was _sure _Lila still liked me before... but when I told her I liked her back... she blew me off. What if... what if I'm wrong and Helga really doesn't like me? I mean... all those things could be explained pretty easily... Who wouldn't have at least tried to save me, she's far from heartless, and she comforted me because... she just has a more softer, caring side... and maybe when she kissed me back she was just humoring me... and she was only looking at me just now because... because..." He blinked, taking on a pensive look.

Gerald rolled his eyes a little, and then looked back at Arnold with a blank expression. "Arnold, look at all the signs. She saved you, yes, and I don't know anyone who wouldn't have at least tried to save you, but she went beyond that. She comforted you, and walked you home! Helga wouldn't have done that if she didn't at least like you. And I think we both know that if a boy came up to her and started kissing her, they'd get socked in the face... but you didn't, did you? No, instead you got a kiss back."

Arnold looked at him, his expression still a little uneasy, but he was able to manage a small smile. "You're right... I'll tell her. I mean, she was gonna find out sooner or later anyway."

Gerald smiled, and picked up both their trays to throw out the food. He was only doing it for Arnold because he still had a bit of a limp, and he didn't want him to fall.

Arnold smiled at him in thanks, and looked back over to Helga, once again only to be met by her dark blue eyes, before she scowled at him and looked away.

Arnold smiled a little, and laid his head onto the table in his arms._ 'Maybe things won't be so bad, after all...'_

* * *

The bell had just rung, signalling the end of the school day.

Arnold smiled as he glanced up at the clock, and got out of his seat.

Helga was leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest and a blank expression, waiting for him. He smiled at her, and she just blinked at him, and a small, almost undetectable smile began gracing her lips, which Arnold noticed.

They were about to walk out the door, when Mr. Simmons called out, "Arnold, no, don't leave just yet!"

Arnold turned around, and took a small step forward. "What is it, Mr. Simmons?"

"Well, it's just that I... Helga, could you leave us alone for a minute?"

Helga looked between the two of them, and shrugged, walking out of the door. "See ya out front, Arnoldo."

Arnold nodded at her, and then turned back around. Mr. Simmons looked a little fidgety, so Arnold asked, "Is everything okay, Mr. Simmons?"

He sighed, and gestured for him to take a seat in his desk.

Arnold blinked, but did what was asked. Mr. Simmons then got down on his knees in front of him, and asked seriously, "I don't know, Arnold. _Is_ everything okay?"

Arnold looked slightly taken aback, "Mr. Simmons, if this is about the black eye and the few little bruises, really... it's no big deal."

Mr. Simmons sighed. "Arnold, this is a big deal. Now I think it's pretty obvious that someone has been hurting you. And this is the worst yet. I've been seeing you walk into my class with black eyes, bruises, cuts... I've been hoping that you would come to me, but I guess that's not the case. Arnold, I need to know what's wrong."

Arnold blinked at him, and bit his lip. "Like I said... it's no big deal... but..." He took a deep breath, and pushed out what had been buried so deep in his mind in a rushed voice, "I spilled my food all over Miranda at lunch once and ever since she's been beating me up in secret and calling me all kinds of curse words. And I was too afraid to tell anyone because she said she'd kill my whole family and me if I did. Just recently she tried to k-kill me, and Helga saved me, and Miranda got arrested. So now I'm safe and it's no big deal..." He finished, gasping for air. Tears had started sprinkling to life in his eyes somewhere in the middle of his confession, and they were just beginning to fall.

Mr. Simmons gawked at him, unbelieving that something so serious had been going on underneath his nose. "Arnold..."

Arnold sniffled, and quickly tried to wipe the tears away from his eyes with his sleeve. "I'm fine, okay."

"No... no, I don't think you are, Arnold."

"What?" Arnold asked weakly, still trying to get his tears to stop flowing.

Mr. Simmons sighed, and looked at him with the utmost concern. "Arnold, I think you should go see Jenif-... I mean, Dr. **Bliss**... for therapy."

"Therapy?"

Mr. Simmons nodded. "I can set you up an appointment. I think it would really do you some good. This has obviously traumatized you a bit, if it brings you to tears just talking about it."

Arnold blinked at him, and Mr. Simmons smiled.

"It's the right thing to do, Arnold... for your very special self."

* * *

Helga tapped her foot, standing outside PS118. She sighed again, and sat down on the steps. Suddenly, she heard the doors swing open, and she turned around to see Arnold still trying to wipe his tears away.

She frowned and stood, walking over to him. She rubbed his back, and asked as softly as she could, "You okay?"

Arnold looked up at her, and smiled ever so slightly. "Yeah."

She nodded, and removed her hand. "So... what did Simmons want to talk about?"

"Therapy." Arnold answered nonchalantly, beginning to walk down the steps.

She quickly fell into step at his side. "Therapy? What for?"

Arnold sighed, and stopped walking. "He thinks that M-Miranda... traumatized me."

Helga blinked at him. "Well... she kinda did." She said quietly, frowning bitterly.

Arnold looked down, and away from her. "I guess... so, there was actually something I wanted to talk to you about... would you like to come over to the boarding house?"

Helga inwardly squealed, while outside she just shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever floats your boat."

Arnold smiled at her, and as they began walking again, he casually slipped his hand into hers.

* * *

Helga jumped up onto his couch, and crossed her legs. "So, Football Head, what's on your mind?"

Arnold swallowed hard, and sat down next to her, making sure to look everywhere but her eyes. "Well... it's just... I've kinda... since you've been so... and now I..." He sighed in frustration, and finally met her eyes.

She blinked at him in bewilderment, and tilted her head just slightly. "What is wrong with you, Arnoldo?"

He quickly took her hands in his, and scooted a little closer to her. She was shocked by this development, and looked at him with wide, almost startled blue eyes.

He smiled at her slightly, and took a deep breath. "Helga... this is a little weird for me... and I'm not quite sure why or how it happened... it was very sudden... but... but I think... No, I _know_... I... I..." He saw a small spark of hope flash in her eyes, and suddenly found the courage to say it. "I love you."

Helga's jaw dropped, and her arms went limp. She had expected it before, especially with all his kissing... but actually hearing it was something else. She wished she had a tape recorder handy, so she could replay those _beautiful _words over and over again... because this would probably be the last she'd hear them from him.

She shook her head, and Arnold slouched, looking down and letting go of her hands. "I'm sorry, Helga... I can't help the way I feel. I understand if you don't feel the same way."

Helga sighed, and put a hand on his shoulder, as he waited for the rejection of a life time. "No... you don't love me, Arnold."

Arnold looked at her, shocked. Out of all the responses he'd thought she'd have... this was **_not_** one of them. "But, Helga, I do. I love you. I know it's a little strange, especially coming from _me_ to _you_... but I really do, Helga. I-"

"Stop." Helga said flatly, rubbing her temples and shutting her eyes tight... to keep the tears of disappointment from coming. "You only think you love me because you're grateful to me for saving you. You're mistaking thankfulness for love." She shook her head, and opened her eyes, as her arms dropped.

Arnold gawked at her slightly, and shook his head. "I really think you've got it wrong, Helga. I lo-"

"No, you don't."

"Why would I mistake something like being grateful for being in love?" He demanded, raising his voice only slightly.

"Because you must know of my feelings for you, so now you're thinking that loving me back would be a proper thank you for me saving your idiotic life!" She yelled in frustration, not even realizing what she had said.

"No, I-..." He froze, and suddenly grew a small smile. "You love me too?" He asked hopefully, straightening up in his seat.

She gasped, and quickly threw her hands to her mouth. She got off the couch, and backed away from him a little, shaking her head.

Arnold grinned, and stood also. "So... this _isn't _a one-sided thing?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, and lowered her hands from her mouth. "It is in my case, because you don't really love me!"

Arnold didn't let her dampen his mood, though, as he took a step closer to her. "But I do love you, Helga. Maybe for a longer time than I even know... I don't know. All I know is that I have a very deep adoration for you that I can only classify as love."

Helga took a step back, and narrowed her eyes more at him. "You don't actually love me, Arnold. Get it through that wide, thick skull of yours already! You're only grateful! It came on too suddenly to be **_love_**!"

He took another step closer to her, and answered calmly, "No, I definitely love you, and yes it was sudden, but that doesn't make it any less real. Helga... I love you." He took another step closer to her, reaching out a hand to her.

She slapped his hand away, and took another step back. "No, Arnold... don't you get it? You practically hated me before, we were just a hair away from being enemies! And _now_ you're suddenly in love with me?! It doesn't make sense!"

Arnold shrugged, and took another step towards her, as she backed away again, finally hitting his closet door. He stood right in front of her, and smiled. "Helga, why are you trying to make this difficult?" He asked softly, taking her hand.

She growled at him, and took her hand back aggressively. "I'm not the one ganging up on you, and trying to force something as ridiculous as an 'I love you' in your face when it isn't true!"

Arnold frowned, and grabbed her hand back, placing it on his heart. "Helga, if I don't love you... why is my heart beating so fast... so hard?"

Yes, his heart was indeed beating hard against his chest, and she could feel the light, rapid thumps against her hand. She pulled her hand back, gently this time, and sighed. "That could be from anything. Maybe you've just been eating too much sugar."

"I've eaten hardly anything in the past few months Miranda has..." He trailed off, looking away.

"Was." She corrected, as she lifted her hand up slightly as she said this. "She's not going to hurt you anymore, you know... Arnold?"

Arnold's eyes snapped back to hers, and his form slouched slightly in defeat. "Helga... I know... but now _you're_ trying to hurt me. I love you, Helga. Why won't you believe me. It's not because I'm grateful. I am, but... I-"

"Arnold, you don't love me. Case closed." She slipped away from the closet door and him, and headed for the door of his room.

Arnold turned around to watch her. "Is there hope?" He asked quietly.

She stopped, but didn't turn around. "Hope about what?"

"...That you'll ever believe me?"

She sighed, and opened up the door, stepping out, and answering him as she slowly closed it. "I can't believe what's not true."

And with that, the door slowly clicked shut.

* * *

Helga walked slowly in the direction of the park, her eyes trained on the ground in front of her, and her hands shoved into the pockets of her purple jacket. She felt bad for breaking his poor little heart... but he didn't really love her, and as soon as he realized that, everything would go back to normal. He didn't even need her comfort anymore. He was going to therapy now, and he already had a whole family and tons of friends to support him... she wasn't anything important to him really.

She shut her eyes, and stopped at the entrance of the park, closing her eyes to prevent the tears from falling. If there was anything more painful than rejection, it was _this_. To have everything you ever wanted, everything you ever dreamed of... and then just have it snatched away from you. She couldn't cry, though, Pataki's didn't cry. No. No, no, no... She felt one small tear slide down her cheek, and sniffled a little, her lips wiggling. She then took a deep breath, and forced any thought of sorrow or tears or Arnold from her mind. He wasn't worth her tears... Okay, so he was. But she had never cried over him before. She had gotten passionate, even been sad before, and especially jealous when he gained affections for every girl that WASN'T her... but she had never cried over him, and she wasn't going to start now.

She continued her walk through the park, mindlessly noting the few construction people, hard at work in chopping down a tree. Why were they doing it? Like she cared. Hillwood wasn't the most beautiful city, she guessed they were just trying to keep their reputation of world's oldest and ugliest town. She rolled her eyes... or would have, if she didn't feel so defeated. So she simply walked down the path, her eyes on the ground and her hands tucked inside her pockets. She didn't like feeling this way.

Not at all.

* * *

Arnold stood in his room, his shoulders slouched, and tears glistening in his eyes. He was becoming entirely too emotional these days. Maybe therapy would be a good thing. It was long over due, that was for sure. What with his parents, Helga, and just recently... Miranda.

He closed his eyes and willed himself against crying. Crying wouldn't solve anything. No... no, he had to do something. He knew he loved her. He _knew_. Why she was so in denial about it was beyond him.

He felt himself smiling though, as he thought, _'But she does love me back... she returns my feelings, just as I'd suspected... but how long has she loved me? I mean...** Helga**... loving **me**? It makes me feel extremely happy, under the circumstances... but still. It's so odd. How long? Why? When? How? Oh! ...I can't just stand here and ask myself questions I can't even answer... I... I need to go find her.'_

He rushed over to his closet, and grabbed his blue coat, putting it on quickly. He ran to the door, and opened it up, but before closing it, he took a deep breath, and muttered to nothing but the air in the room, "Wish me luck."

* * *

Helga stood still for a second, watching as the clouds floated by. Of course, they all looked like footballs to her. Why did he have to torture her so? What did she ever do to deserve so much misery? She supposed that bad things happened to good _and_ bad people... particularly bad, thanks to that nasty little thing called karma. But she wasn't good or bad, was she? She was... kinda in between. But she was mostly good... right? Sure she picked on people, beat on people occasionally, and treated the one person she loved more than anyone like dirt... but that was all an act. Was it so wrong to not want to be embarrassed for life?

She felt the slight breeze blow her pigtails back, her eyes half-lidded and her face void of any emotion as she contemplated these things.

Arnold ran into the park, knowing that at a time like this, going home probably wouldn't sound too appealing to her. He spotted her standing a few feet away from a tree, that had a few men with construction hats trying to chop it down. Why were they cutting down a perfectly good tree? Well, it was a rather old tree. It probably had termites in it. It was going to come down anyway, probably. So he guessed they were just speeding up nature. The men didn't seem to notice her as they continued in their task.

Arnold slowed his pace, as he walked slowly towards her, silently wondering what he was going to say to her. How would he start this off? He had so many questions, and so much he still had to convince her of. He stopped completely, just staring at her. The way the wind just rippled through her golden blonde pigtails, and how her blue eyes looked so thoughtful and she just stood there... like a statue. A statue for him to enjoy. He found himself smiling softly. He loved her so much... he wished she believed him so they could just be together. But then again, the best things in life always seemed to be the hardest to acquire. He, of all people, knew that well. You have to work to be happy... and it's hard sometimes, but always worth it. Which was exactly why he wasn't going to give up on this. Sure it would be hard, as Helga was just a naturally stubborn person... but so worth it in the end.

He stared at her, feeling a familar warmth and adoration spark up inside him.

He suddenly heard a strange snap sound, though, and turned his head slightly to see the large old tree beginning to fall... in the direction of Helga.

"TIMBER!" One of the men yelled.

He watched in slow motion as Helga turned around slightly to see who was yelling, and then her eyes widen and her mouth fall open as the shadow of the falling tree slowly overtook her. She stumbled back, instinctively holding up her arms for protection even though they would serve none.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Arnold yelled in terror, running at her with as much speed as he could possibly muster.

The tree fell, Helga screamed, Arnold ran.

Maybe some things just weren't meant to be?

* * *

**A/N: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!**

**Go ahead! HATE ME! I was asking for it anyway! Now Helga will be crushed and Arnold will probably commit suiside! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'M EVIL! }=^]**

**But really, this isn't the end, trust me! There will be another chapter. What did I tell ya? I meant for this to be three chapters, and now it's growing! OH NO! XD**

**But this is not the end. I'm even considering an epilogue, and maybe even a short little extra chapter on how Miranda got the way she is. You know, like a little "Behind the Scenes" extra thingamajig. :D Yuppidy doo! Sorry for the wait, by the way. I really hate doing this to you guys. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! *Sniffles* It hurts me to hurt you! *Falls to the ground, violently sobbing***

**XD So now then... You all know me too well not to know what I will be saying next... but I've gotta say it anyway. It's in my contract. XD**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Thank ya'll! *Tips hat to you***


	4. I Saved her Life

**A/N: Snow Crabs are taking over HILLWOOD!!!! OH NO! :O *Rolls eyes***

**So anyway, here's the fourth chapter. :D Isn't it exciting?!?!?! *Squeals* :O Crap! I never squeal! Do you realize what this means?! :O**

**IT MEANS THIS IS REALLY EXCITING!!!!! :))) Is it just me... or does that smiley there have two chins? *Raises eyebrow***

**Whatever. Just read! *Squeals* ...Before I spontaneously combust. XD**

**Oh, just a little note. Intense scene ahead... well, I think it is. *Shrugs* I was listening to Superchick's "Stand in the Rain" while writing this. :D It really helped, I think. Ah, music inspires me so. *Smiles contently***

**Disclaimer: -_- I believe we have already gone over this... *Sigh* I _don't _own the spectacularness known as "Hey Arnold!"**

* * *

**"Unexpected Savior" Sequel: She Saved my Life**

**Chapter 4**

Helga stood there, her arms over her face, and her eyes wide in pure terror. She screamed in raw agony before she was even hit, but the crash she felt wasn't one of a heavy, bone crushing oak... but something... something blonde, she saw. And then she was on the ground, her eyes closed and her heart beat racing. She fluttered her eyes open weakly, and she was instantly met with emerald eyes... eyes like the greenest meadows... meadows she'd always dreamt of getting lost in.

His eyes were wide and terrified, and she could practically feel his own heart racing. He was on top of her, his arms supporting him from touching her, as he panted, staring down at her with distressed and horrified eyes. She stared up, not quite sure what to say. She looked over, and saw the construction workers standing there completely stiff, their eyes wide in shock. She looked around Arnold's shaking form, and saw the tree... a large, old oak tree... laying on the ground.

She gawked at it, and her eyes widened, and her unibrow flew up all the way past her bangs. She looked back at Arnold, and blinked in awe. "You... You saved me."

Arnold was still breathing hard, as he shifted his eyes away from hers, staring at the grass beside them instead. He nodded slightly, closing his eyes as he panted.

She stared at him, and blinked a couple times in astonishment. She lifted a shaky hand to touch his cheek softly, and his eyes opened then. They stared at eachother, and a mixture of emotions ran over both their faces. She smiled ever so slightly, and he weakly smiled back.

The construction workers all blinked, and simply walked away from the scene, not sure what else to do.

Helga's eyes suddenly became distressed and her smile dropped. "Why did you... how could you... but... you could have died!"

He blinked at her, and then smiled a little. "Helga... I couldn't just stand there and watch you die... I'm far from heartless." He said, smiling a little bit wider down at her.

She shook her head a little. "No, really... that was stupid."

He gawked at her. "Helga... I love you... watching you die like that would've been stupid... even if I didn't make it to you in time... I had to try... I had to..."

She looked away then, her hand falling from his cheek.

He stared down at her, remembering that she didn't believe him. She thought he was just grateful... that he didn't love her... how ridiculous. He had just risked his life for her. Risked his life... saved her... like... like she had saved_ him_.

His mouth slowly crept open, as she just looked away from him, her face looking disbelieving and pained. He suddenly grew a grin. "Helga... I love you... and I know how to prove it now."

Helga's eyes snapped back to his. "You're not going to kiss me, are you?" She asked suspiciously, with fake horror and alarm added in there... but also a tinge of hope that she couldn't manage to keep out of it.

"Not yet... first I'm going to prove I'm in love with you." He replied, not missing a beat.

She blinked at him, raising one side of her unibrow. "Oh... and how do you plan on doing that, Einstein."

He just stared down at her with a smug little smile, and his eyes half-lidded. "Simple. We're even. There's no reason for me to really be grateful anymore... is there?"

She scrunched her unibrow down, and he continued. "I mean, you've saved me, and now I've saved you. We're completely even. So shouldn't my feelings be gone now?"

Helga blinked at him, and then her eyes widened. "But... but..."

Arnold interrupted her, still smug but with a dash of desperation this time. "Helga... please stop making this so hard. We're even. If my feelings weren't true, then now they should be gone... but they're not. If anything, they're stronger." He leaned down a little more, and for a moment her mind flashed back to the April Fools Dance when he had dipped her so roughly. Same face, same actions, but different words and intentions. Before she could think anymore of this, his lips touched hers. In a gentle, feather-like kiss.

Her eyes nearly popped clear out of her head, and she stared at his closed eyes, alarmed. He continued kissing her, and soon her eyelids became heavier and heavier, as her stomach overflowed with butterflies, and an overpowering warmth spread across her from head to toe at lightning speed. Finally her eyes closed, and she slowly began kissing him back.

Arnold felt his entire body warm up instantly, and butterflies soar all around in his stomach. He could practically see sparks going off in his eyelids. (A/N: How corny am I? *Wiggles eyebrows*)

After a few more seconds, he pulled back, and smiled at her with half-lidded eyes. He tried his best to look smug... but it came out more lovesick.

She had an extremely lovesick look, as her eyes were also half-lidded, and her smile was extremely shaky. She placed her hands over her heart, as they stared at eachother.

"Wow..." They both said slowly, both softly and sounding very lovesick.

He laughed shakily for a second. "Um... do you believe me now?" He asked quietly, softly, smiling toothily at her in a nervous manner.

She looked at him, still feeling uncertain. She tried to think this over logically, though having his wonderfully perfect form on top of her, and staring at her with those sparkling meadows of greener than green grass was NOT helping. She shifted her eyes away from his own, and was thankful to finally find her brain. Okay, so she saved him, and he was immensely grateful, so he kissed her... a lot. She assumed it was all just because he was thankful and mistaking that as some kind of messed up sort of affection... but now they were even. He had saved her life. She had saved his life. He had risked his life. She had risked her life. And now... now that they were even... he _still _had that affection for her that he was calling love. Was it love? She couldn't say. But... he had affection for her. Then again, he had never wanted to kiss another girl on the lips... so this was new. Maybe it was love? She wished she could crawl into that wide head of his and feel what he was feeling, know what was going through that brain of his. She wondered briefly... was his brain oblong too? No... no, that didn't matter now. What mattered was that he-... OH! Why was she over thinking things? Why didn't she want to just take it? Why couldn't she just grab him up, and never look back? ...Because this kind of thing never happened to her. No. Everything awful always happened to her. She was born in a house, with a family, where she might as well be invisible. A family that was too obsessed with her older, better, more _perfect_ daughter, to notice that they're youngest was suffering. So... wonderful things like this never happened to her.

She looked back up into his eyes, to see that they were looking slightly panicked but also pained. She really was hurting him... wasn't she?

She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes briefly. Things had to change. This was her chance... and she had to take it. She opened her eyes, and smiled at him. "...Sure... Football Head."

His face lit up, and he kissed her again, much harder than before, before standing up, and holding out a hand to her.

She stared at it, and then looked back at him, smirking briefly before scowling and standing up by herself. "I don't need your _help_, you**_ football headed geek-bait_**!" she spat, glaring at him hatefully.

He was taken aback for a moment, before smirking, and grabbing her collar to pull her down to his level. He kissed her lips tenderly, before pulling away and smirking again. "No, Helga."

She rolled her eyes, and he just let go of her collar and opted to grabbing her hand instead, smiling with content half-lidded eyes.

She clasped her fingers around his hand in return and then they both walked over to the tree, where Arnold climbed over it, and she went after. He helped her over by grabbing her hand again, as she jumped down. Then they smiled at eachother, before attempting to leave. Helga stopped him, though, and grabbed a pocket knife out of her shirt. He stared at her, and she just smirked broadly, shrugging. She turned to the tree then and began carving into it. He looked over her, curiously.

Once she was done, she put her pocket knife back into her shirt. She turned to him and stepped aside to reveal what she'd just done.

He looked at her smirking face, and then to the tree. After seeing her work, he smiled, grabbing her arm and pulling her a bit closer. "That's cute, Helga."

She shrugged again, and stared at him with a smug smirk and her arms crossed over her chest.

He grabbed one of her hands, and kissed it sweetly.

She let out a contented sigh, and then clasped his hand back in hers, as they both walked out of the park together, leaving the tree there, with the inscription that Helga had carved to stay, and eventually fade along with the tree, while the meaning remained forever...

_Arnold x Helga 4 ever_

* * *

"Alright, Missy. You're gonna be staying here for a very long time now, so get used to it. This is what happens when you try and kill people. The toilet's over there... I hope you enjoy your stay at Casa de... Prison." The guard said coldly, slamming the bars shut on the jail cell.

Miranda stood there dumbfounded, with an orange Prison suit on. She looked over to the toilet briefly, and frowned. She may not have been the brightest crayon in the box... but she knew what a toilet in the open meant.

"_Hey there... you're ne__w_." Spoke a kindly deep, but sick sounding voice from behind her. Miranda turned to come face to face with someones stomach. Her mouth fell open, as her head turned up to stare up at a tall, extremely buff woman in the same outfit as her... albeit much bigger, due to her size. She had gray hair that went passed her shoulders, and you could see a tattoo sticking out of the collar on her neck... it looked... like a skull... on fire.

The woman looked down at her with large, blazing gray eyes, smiling a smile filled with false friendliness. "_We're gonna be having lots of fun together, aren't we?"_

Miranda stared up at her, and scowled darkly, attempting to body slam her into a wall... but all she did was crash into her, as if she'd just run into a concrete wall herself, and went falling backwards to the ground. She stared up at the woman with wide, alarmed eyes.

The woman smirked darkly, her eyes in slits. She bent down, and held out her over-sized hand to her. "_Hi... my name's Ashley_."

* * *

We fade out on the Prison here, all nothing but a gray, colorless concrete building, with high, barb-wired fences. Countless ways to get in... no way out.

As we fade out on the Prison, we hear a high-pitched scream of pure horror... that could only be identified as Miranda.

So now we know. Some people deserve mercy, deserve to be happy for once in their lives, deserve a second chance... while others have been shown mercy _too_ many times before, have been given _too_ many chances... and if you're not careful...

Another long, drawn out scream.

...you'll miss out on every one.

* * *

**A/N: Eh, I know, short, but was it at least satisfying? :D **

**...No?**

**Dang.**

**Oh well, I tried my best. I hope that you did enjoy though, and this is not the end.... Well, it _is_... but I will be adding to it. The epilogue will have the Arnold therapy session in it... I guess. I'm gonna be honest here, I was planning on that being a little vague paragraph on how the session went, but a lot of people have been telling me that they're looking forward to it. *Sigh* I'm not sure if I can write a therapy session. I've never been to therapy, and have rarely ever watched OTHER people BE in therapy. So I'm not exactly sure how it would go... but if you all want it so bad, I'll try my best. :D Who knows? Maybe it won't be so bad. Therapist is actually one of the many things I've been considering as my future profession. Except... I'm just so darned into artistical, creative crap like writing, singing, and drawing that I don't think I'd have the time. *Rolls eyes at self* My point is, I'll try if you all really want it. :D**

**I'm also planning on doing a really short little backround "Behind the Scenes" thing, where I'll tell you all the story of how Miranda became such a monster, and why she deserves no mercy. -_- MWAHAHAHAHA! I'll tell you now, that I did not come up with her backround story. This IS, after all, a little sequel/companion fic to "Unexpected Savior", so the character of Miranda actually belongs to NintendoGal55. Who knew someone so nice and friendly could create such evil? XD So she came up with her story, I'm just elaborating and sharing. :D**

**Also, I know some people actually wanted Helga to be hurt so Arnold would feel guilty... but why would he? What did he do? Don't you think he's gone through enough torment for a freakin' nine year old? Besides, I've had this planned since day one. Ever since I read Nintendo's fic, I've had the beginning, part of the middle, and ending all stuck in my head. So all this was going to happen before any of you started reading even. All planned! :D I know! Weird, right? Usually I'm just winging it, but this just kind of came to me. :D**

**Once more, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll go get started on the epilogue... or the Miranda story. I just can't figure out which I want to write first. XD Well, the epilogue should be posted before the extra on Miranda, so maybe I SHOULD write the epilogue first... but I'm escared of the therapy session. :P**

**Well, whatever. So sorry for making you go through all my meaningless banter. :) OH! And if anyone's confused about why Miranda is screaming... I figured I'd leave that up your horribly sadistic imaginations. };^) MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**You REALLY should know what's coming next... but if not, I'll try and refresh your memory...**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**And thanks 4 reading! :D**


End file.
